Masa ⭐⭐⭐ & Sushi Nakazawa ⭐, NYC, May 2025

Masa

Unfortunately, given Masa’s infamous policy, no photos (pics are from Nakazawa). Dinner at the Hinoki counter. First, I was served his selection of famous appetizers, which mainly go unchanged: 1. Stone Crab with Uni Aioli 2. Toro Tartare with Osetra Caviar 3. Buri Sashimi, Wild Caught Yellowtail with Ponzu 4. Langoustine, Ginger, Scallion, Riesling 5. Braised Akamutsu, Japanese Sea Perch with Spinach 6. Ohmi Beef Tataki with Truffle 7. Sea Bream Consommé

Each appetizer was amazing, all luxurious combinations of perfectly cooked/prepared proteins with amazing sauces and condiments. Besides the langoustine, which I’d give an 18, everything was 19-20/20, and the signature toro tartare and beef tataki (which you can get at Bar Mas) were absolutely 21/20 for me!

Next up were the sushi/nigiri pieces: toro, shima aji, hirame, tai, kinmedai, ika, amaebi, hotate, awabi, suji, saba, sayori, matsutake mushroom, anago, kuruma ebi, hokkaido uni, truffle, negi toro, and ume shiso.

Each piece was practically perfect, and many were the joint best, or the best version I’ve ever had of that fish! Masa’s rice is also easily up there with the best for me! I particularly loved the toro/fatty tuna, hotate/scallop, anago/eel, uni, and negi toro/fatty tuna! As often happens at Masa, the chef asked me which my favorite pieces I had were, and he gave me a second piece of the hotate and uni. Overall, 19/20 for the nigiri.

As is usual at Japanese/omakase places, dessert is really an afterthought. Here, it was tomago, fresh Japanese melon and mango, a slightly fruit-flavored crème brûlée, and green tea. A nice, simple end to the meal. By Japanese/omakase standards, an 18/20.

For me, outside of Japan, Masa is simply the best! As phenomenal as Noz, Sho, Yoshino, etc. are, I feel Masa is always a slight step above, especially regarding their appetizers. They also easily have the best sake/wine list and pairings. The service was wonderful! At the end of the day, it’s always almost impossibly hard to actually recommend Masa, since it’s $950+ to sit at the counter. If you like sushi, but not significantly more than any other cuisine, I’d 100% say go to Noz or Yoshino instead. However, if, perhaps like Jiro, you dream of sushi, it’s not really a matter of “is Masa worth it,” it's a matter of if you want the best sushi in the Western Hemisphere, this is where you have to go, and that’s how much you’ll have to pay.

Sushi Nakazawa

Lunch at the omakase counter. Nakazawa, as usual, goes straight into the nigiri: chum salmon, smoked sockeye salmon, sea scallop, bigfin reef squid, olive flounder, red horsehead, rosy seabass, amber striped scad, spanish mackerel, spot prawn, hairy crab, cobia, smoked bonito, lean bluefin tuna, soy marinated lean bluefin tuna, fatty bluefin tuna, california sea urchin, hokkaido uni, sea eel, and tamago.

For this visit, the rice was awful at first. I heard the sushi chef/itamae complain to someone else about the rice, but it was only changed a few pieces in. For the first 6 pieces, the sushi rice was definitely didn’t taste right, and nowhere near sticky enough. I had two nigiri pieces, the salmon and squid, that simply fell apart when I picked them up. The latter 14 pieces were fine, but that was it. Nakazawa definitely likes to use different toppings/sauces, and I felt they detracted from the sushi. They 100% overuse citrus/yuzu flavors, which is a problem I’ve had in the past, and I hated a particular brown mustard they used twice. There was also horribly inconsistent amounts of wasabi in the pieces. Some had literally none and other "memorable" pieces brought me to tears. Many people complain about the torching, however, that was only done for 3 pieces (excluding the wagyu supplement), and I thought it was done tastefully. The meal ended with a simple crème brûlée. Overall, 14/20

In the end, not a single piece of sushi was exceptional for me, and the service, besides the woman making the sushi, was quite poor. I’ve been to Nakazawa numerous times over the years, and it has undeniably declined. I can’t even remember the last time someone told me they were served by Daisuke Nakazawa himself. Unfortunately, given the profusion of incredible options in NYC, I can’t say I’ll ever be back to Nakazawa.